


Hit and Miss

by Cyan (vehicroids)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arcades, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-24 00:17:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16169708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vehicroids/pseuds/Cyan
Summary: Summer was finally here, and what better way to spend it that to drag your sister to the arcade?





	Hit and Miss

It had been a while since Matt has been to the arcade. He used to be a frequent visitor as a child, usually with friends. Sometimes, he went with Pidge, but it was difficult to drag her outside. As Matt got into college, he no longer had the time. Thankfully for him, summer was here, and he had all the time in the world. Pidge refused to go with him at first, but eventually, she finally cracked.

Nothing said summer to Matt like flashing lights and jingling quarters in pockets. Ah, this was home, and the three other people in this arcade were family. Pidge was already bored, looking around for something to do. The arcade was pretty quiet today - too hot to be inside, Matt presumed - allowing them free roam to do as they pleased.

“Look, a shooting game,” Matt whistled.

“Really?” Pidge laughed. “I’d kick your ass.”

“Wanna try?”

Pidge folded her arms on her chest and smirked up at him. “You’re on.”

The other people that were in the arcade weren’t far away; they were at the skee ball table behind Matt. He didn’t pay much attention to their chatter, trying to focus on the game, instead. But his attention kept getting caught by their voices.

“Move aside, boys,” one of them said, tone brimming with confidence, “let the sharpshooter do his thing.”

“Yeah, watch him miss,” one of them snorted. The third one laughed with him, while the first guy clicked his tongue.

Matt stopped listening, finally getting his head in the game. Pidge was winning, because of course she was. Her aim was impeccable, along with her dexterity. Not to mention, she hadn't gotten distracted by eavesdropping on others’ conversations. Matt's tongue poked out at the corner of his mouth, trying his best, but he knew he had already lost.

In his focus, he barely heard the other guys, background noise barely audible over the game. Matt was in the zone in the wrong time. Had he focused on the game a little less, he would have heard the cry of “Lance, holy fuck!” and “shit,” before it was too late. Something hit the back of his head, and then, the lights turned off.

***

“You've killed my brother, congrats.”

This was the first thing Matt woke up to, and boy, was he glad to hear Pidge. He sighed in relief, but the relief was short-lived when someone grabbed his face.

“No!! Speak to me, buddy, don't walk into the light!”

Matt opened his eyes to the most worried looking guy. His eyes were bright blue, wide with worry. He had a pretty face, with soft looking brown hair. Matt could only look at him in silence, mouth open, and the guy gasped in relief. He pulled Matt into the tightest hug he had ever endured.

“See? I didn't kill him,” he huffed. He pulled away again. “You okay, man?”

“Uh--” Matt looked around at all the concerned faces. “... what happened? My head is killing me.”

“Lance can't throw a ball. It bounced back, he moved out of the way, and then knocked you out,” one of the other boys said.

“At least you guys can never say I have a weak throw again,” the guy holding him - Lance? - frowned.

Matt laughed, but no one else did. Lance let out a small snort, before checking Matt's head. He hummed, brushing his hand against the back. Lance touched where the ball hit, and Matt winced, flinching.

“Oh man, you might need to go to the hospital,” Lance said.

“Really. It took you ten minutes to figure that out,” one of his friends scoffed.

Lance whined, frustrated. “You could have called while I was checking him over. Like, any of you could.”

“Relax, Lance, I already called,” the shorter of his friends assured him.

Lance clicked his tongue, frustrated. Matt wanted to argue that he was fine, but having been knocked out, he knew he couldn’t have been fine. Maybe Pidge was right - the arcade was a bad idea. The ambulance arrived, and soon, Matt found himself in the back of an ambulance. His head was dizzy still, but thankfully, he had Pidge by his side.

The rest of it was, unfortunately, a blur. Doctors, nurses, the background noise of the hospital, they had all blurred into one thing. Matt was tired, but due to having a concussion, he wasn’t allowed to sleep. At least he was in hospital, safe. All he knew now was that he would be kept overnight, just to make sure he was alright.

He couldn’t believe that had happened; that Lance kid had a seriously good throw on him. He couldn’t believe the bounce back on it - what was the ball made of? Rubber? He supposed it didn’t really matter now, all that mattered was the dull ache in the back of his head. The painkillers were helping, though.

Matt heard feet scuffing on the hospital floor, and for a moment, he thought it was an emergency. A familiar face poked around the door, scanning the room and frowning, before leaving. A second passed, before the face came back, with a smile. It was Lance, and somehow, Matt didn’t completely forget about him.

“There you are!” he beamed. “Matt, right?”

When did Matt ever introduce himself? He nodded, and Lance moved over to his side. Well, he supposed asking for permission fell out of style, then. He sat down on the chair next to Matt, frowning.

“Are you okay, man?” Lance asked.

“Yeah, they're keeping me in overnight for observation. They should let me out tomorrow,” Matt said.

“I'm so sorry about what happened, dude. I just wanted to show off, and…” Lance sighed. “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

Matt was so high on medication, or at least that was his excuse. The pleading puppy look that Lance gave him with his soft blue eyes was almost too much to bear. Matt blurted out the first thing that came to his stupid head.

“Go out with me.” Lance blinked blankly at him, and Matt realised what he had just said, and that it wasn’t something he thought. He cleared his throat. “That's how you can make it up to me. Take me out.”

Lance looked away, laughing softly, cheeks flushed. “Sure. Gimme your number, and I'll text you sometime.”

Matt reached for his phone at his side and gave Lance his number. Wait, holy shit, he was giving his number to a cute guy. And he was doing it smoothly, as well. Perhaps all Matt needed to do to flirt was to be concussed, though it wouldn't be a method he would use very often. Lance soon left after that, and Matt was left alone, giddy.

***

Come the next morning, Matt was discharged. The previous day felt like a fever dream, including the part where he gave Lance his number. Maybe it was just a weird dream. At least now he was at home, just relaxing on the couch. Pidge was in her room, likely to avoid Matt asking about going outside again. Don’t worry, he learned his lesson.

The phone by his side buzzed, and Matt ignored it at first. He was busy, the TV was on, and it was probably a notification for a game. It could have been important, though. He checked his phone, and was pleasantly surprised.

‘ _Hey!! It's Lance. I'm ready to make good on my promise whenever you are_ ’

The text was drowned in blue heart emoji, and Matt laughed. It was cute, and at least he wasn’t the one who seemed too eager.

‘ _sure! I'm free all week :D_ ’

A response came almost instantly. ‘ _Nice! So I was thinking, we can get some ice cream, right? Normally I'd say the arcade but uhh… ice cream sounds better. Then we can, I dunno, figure out where to go from there_ ’

Matt snorted. Yeah, an arcade date seemed like a terrible idea now. ‘ _when?_ ’

‘ _Now?_ ’ And another text came a second later ‘ _Okay no I’m kidding whenever is good though_ ’

‘ _now is fine_ ’

They set up a meeting point - the front of the mall - and Matt waited around anxiously. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets, leaning against a wall, trying to look cool. If Pidge saw, she would have called him a tool. Well, good thing Pidge wasn't there, then. His glasses sat on the bottom of his nose, glancing over the top of his lenses. Maybe he needed contacts, or something.

“You know, you don't look as cool as you think,” Lance laughed, startling him. “Actually, I think you're making little kids cry.”

Matt rolled his eyes, but still laughed. “I think you're being overdramatic, I looked way cool.” He pushed his glasses up in a manner he thought was cool. Lance just laughed harder.

“Yeah, no, you went from creepy guy next door to complete loser. C'mon, let's go get ice cream,” he said, pulling Matt's arm.

Matt tried to argue, but there was no point. He allowed himself to be dragged off by Lance, listening to him chattering about whatever was on his mind. He was certainly interesting, Matt thought. He smiled, listening to him.

They arrived at the ice cream parlour, and Lance was already drooling over all the choices. He all but pressed his face against the glass, whimpering. Matt couldn’t say anything - he was right there with Lance.

“Pick whatever you want,” Lance said, “because I can't choose. Maybe bubblegum and vanilla? Aw man, but caramel... what about strawberry?”

“So much choice, so little money,” Matt whined, giving no shits about grammar.

Lance pressed his hands against the glass. “This sucks. C'mon, dude, we can make a choice, right?” He suddenly stood up straight, grabbing Matt by the shirt. “You gotta help me.”

Matt laughed, batting his hands away. Was Lance always this boisterous? He examined the flavours with a hum, considering all of his choices. Why did Lance take him to a place with so many choices, when neither of them could make up their minds In the end, Matt had to tell the server to surprise him - he ended up with salted caramel and white chocolate. Lance finally got two scoops of pistachio.

“You seriously ordered it in a little cup thing?” Lance asked, nibbling at the wafer.

“No, I know my luck. One lick, and splat, right on the floor,” Matt snorted. “And I'm wearing white.”

Lance tutted. “Not a wise choice, man.”

Matt nudged him gently with his shoulder. Okay,fine, he should have known better. They sat on a park bench, watching the people walk by. Oh God, Matt hadn't been out on a date since... wait, no, never. He had never been on a date. Did it even count if it was a pity date after near-murder? Hopefully, because Lance was cute, and he wanted to see if this would lead anywhere.

Matt finished off his ice cream and threw the little cup away, waiting for Lance to finish his cone. Matt didn't want to get too close, knowing that bad boy would just splat onto his lap. It would have made for a hilarious first date story, yes, but Matt didn't want that. He didn't need Lance to know he was a total dweeb from the get go.

Who was he kidding? Of course Lance must have known that by now.

He kept his hands on his knees as Lance finished the last of his ice cream. When he was done, he scooted closer to Matt, just a little, thinking he was so smooth. Oh come on, even Matt wasn't that hopeless. But then again, if this was a date, surely Matt could take a chance. He yawned, stretching--

“We're really doing it like this, aren't we?” Lance snorted. “Man, I thought I laid the cheesy pick ups on, but something about you screams 'be cheesy with me'.” He laughed again, shaking his head, before looking over at Matt. “Are you gonna put your arm around me or not?”

Matt realised his arm was sort of dangling in midair, and he laughed, embarrassed, finally putting his arm down. He still expected Lance to wiggle away, or try to escape. To his surprise - and relief - he didn't. Instead, he scooted even closer to Matt, sighing contently.

“This is all part of the ‘I'm sorry for almost murdering you in the arcade’ package; you get one free cuddle on a park bench,” Lance laughed.

“Does this mean I wasted my cuddle?” Matt asked.

“Yep, sorry buddy,” Lance shrugged.

Matt rolled his eyes, amused, rubbing Lance's arm. Lance hummed, content.

“We should do this again,” he offered. “As a date, and not a weird excuse. I mean, if you want to.”

Matt squeezed him gently. “Definitely.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Latte bang! Thanks to [Lindsey](http://crafty-scrafty.tumblr.com/post/178674180425/heres-my-piece-for-unofficial-lattebang-this-is) and [Ara](https://byeara.tumblr.com/post/178674058628/heres-my-piece-for-the-unofficial-lattebang-for) for the art!
> 
> Check me out on [Tumblr!](http://vehicroids.tumblr.com)


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